At the close of 2007, I set some lofty goals (lofty for me) and I was bound and determined to accomplish them. One goal was to complete a piece of Fiber Art each month. Another was to submit some of those pieces for entry. Both goals left me weak in the knees as I'm not much for competition. I'm not sure if the dreaded "crud" was my body's response to the challenge or not, but it has been with me for more than 3 weeks now, and I am more than tired of it.
Anyway, January is behind us all, and I am turning over a new leaf in February! I begged and pleaded with our kitchen contractor to give me a brief reprive, and so the massive kitchen destruction will begin next Wednesday, February 6th, at 8:00 AM sharp! Phew: I needed a weekend in the city to recover!
C, Barker, and I looked at kitchen countertops this afternoon. What'll it be: Silestone or Granite? C is voting for Silestone, and I was too, but after looking at the lovely, earthy granite samples, I'm wavering? Any opinions out there???? You know I'd love to hear them, so speak up!
My blogger buddy Karen told me she thought my sewing room/studio was much too tidy in the pics that I posted the other day, so I am now showing you the very worst part of my studio:
OK, cut me some slack: I've been sick forever and I've been hard at work on Preserve and Protect through it all!
Speaking of Preserve and Protect, here is the final version, hot off the press just this morning:
.JPG)
The drought in the southeast is an all-consuming topic here in Gainesville, Georgia. We are truly the home of Lake Lanier, which is about 20 feet below full pool at the present time. So, I have dedicated my ecology-minded quilt to lovely Lake Lanier foremost, but also to the constant cutting down of trees in this part of the country, and the ever-present litter. For the life of me, I don't understand how folks don't see the effects of their actions on the generations to follow.
Here are a couple of closeups of Preserve and Protect:
.JPG)
I couched yards and yards of a wonderful rayon/cotton blend fiber onto the Warm and Natural batting that I had hand painted. I enjoy this tedious kind of "work": lots of time to think, and it is always a challenge to get the settings on my machine "just right" and stay on task. (My iPod battery has died, so I am now watching/listening to HGTV or CNN while I sew.) Here I am couching away:
.JPG)
And here's the ball of fiber,rolled up in a little freezer bag and hanging from my knee lifter:
HAPPY FEBRUARY!!
PEACE
9 comments:
Hey Judy,
Where to start? Oh, with the easy stuff I suppose.
First, the Ziploc bag on the knee lift is brilliant. I'm going to have to give that one a try the next time I use yarn.
Second, I vote for honed granite. They take the polished stuff that gets sent to the fabricator and sand it enough to dull the finish. It doesn't sound nice, but its great. You can produce a really sophisticated look, especially with black. Just make sure you have good lighting in the kitchen, because it's not very reflective. We have polished granite in our kitchen and I love it. I didn't consider a honed finish until I saw it in a friend's kitchen after ours was done.
And finally, I can really relate to the weight of January goals. I've been doing a lot of soul searching about why I want to enter/show my work. I want it to be seen by others, to be out there in the world, but I'm not sure about the "competition" part. I've just decided that this is a growth step, and there's more to be gained by taking it than there is to be lost.
Hang in there. February WILL be better than January.
Russ
I am pretty happy to have the longest month of the year behind me, but I have so much to do in February, it may seem too short!!
I have had granite in my last two homes. I love it. I am not familiar with Silestone.
I just love my new GE Monogram fridge. I managed to get everything transferred and the old/new one is in the garage giving it a certain cache.
Good luck with the kitchen destruction and renovation. I don't envy you. Take care and be healthy.
Beautiful close ups. And YES, I am so happy that January is over!!
I have no opinion on granite as I have tile, which I don't much like. I don't envy your kitchen destruction but it will be worth it in the end. THe finished project looks wonderful. And the studio looks productive and that's what a studio is all about, after all.
Ok, now that's a REAL studio! I love how preserve and protect is coming along and I'm with you, happy farewell to January!
Hope your ”crud” will leave you soon.
I’m also glad that we have left January behind us. It’s a very “heavy” month.
Like your Preserve and Protect =)
xo
What a beautiful quilt is that your working on! And what a big one... I would love to make such a big one myself some day, but I only have a Husqvarna Lily sewing machine, so it will be a problem to quilt it (or I have to do it by hand, but I don't like doing that... I rather design and sew)
Corryna
Preserve and protect looks great but I had no idea of the size before. I love the trees and the pebbles. I didn't find January too bad but perhaps that's because I was relieved that November/December were over. Whatever, January was a busy month and February and March are already nearly filled up. Not sure what happened to my plan to do less.
Hugs to Barker. xo
Wow you do beautiful work! I admire the patience.
Just a comment on your ipod, I got a new ipod battery from ipodjuice.com and it lasts so much longer. Very easy to replace too.
Hope you feel better soon!
Post a Comment